Pastor James Guenther

James (Jim) M. Guenther was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on October 27, 1951. He graduated form high school in 1969, started college that fall, and married Martha Jean Mahar on December 5 of the same year. Jim graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a Bachelor of Science degree and a major in Accounting in 1973. He passed the test to become a Certified Public Accountant by the end of 1974 and was working as a GS-12 Internal Revenue Agent in Fayetteville , Arkansas when he yielded to God's call to be a pastor in July of 1977.

Jim started classes at Mid-America Baptist Theoligical Seminary in Memphis, Tennessee in January, 1978. Their three children (Jimmy, Angela, and Brad) were all preschoolers at the time. Jim and Martha moved to their first pastorate in northern Louisiana immediately upon his graduation from seminary with a Mastor of Divinity degree in March of 1981. After over five years of ministry in this rural setting, the Guenthers accepted the call to move to New York and pastor Trinity Baptist Church, arriving in August of 1986.

Martha completed her Bachelor's degree in Art Education at the College of St. Rose in 1990 and worked as an art teacher until 1996. Pastor Jim began work in 1997 on a Doctor of Ministry degree through Mid-America Seminary and completed that course on December 3, 2003.

Pastor Guenther served as a Trustee on the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention for five years, chairing the Church Extension Committee the final year before that agency was merged into the North American Mission Board. He served as a Trustee of that agency until 2001. Pastor Jim also served as the President of the Baptist Convention of New York from 1996 until 1998.

Ken and Deb first started attending Trinity Baptist in the fall of 1992.They both immediately became involved in the music ministry here. Deb, using her abilities at the piano, and Ken, leading music. On November 20, 2002, the church voted to have Ken come on as part-time worship leader here at Trinity. God had different plans! The very next day, he was let go from his full-time job of 22 years.This seemed to be just a subtle hint from the Lord! In June of 2003, Ken began working for Trinity as full-time Worship Leader. Ken grew up in Indian Lake, New York, located in the Adirondack Mountains. He and his wife Debbie went to school together, and first noticed each other at a family wedding on Valentine's Day, 1969. Ken and Deb were married on September 6, 1975, and moved to Schenectady. They have four children, a son, David, who married his wife Amy in October of 1999, who were blessed with a son, Caleb, on February 7, 2007, and three daughters, Lynn, who married John Nuzback in November of 2006, Sarah, who married Matt Reinemann in December of 2005 and Christine, who married Shaun McDonald in January of 2008.  They are excited to see the growth at Trinity, and wait expectantly to see what God has for their lives. One of their favorite verses is Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeff Harrison lived in Belmont, Mississippi before being called by God to the Northeast.  Jeff graduated from Belmont High School in 2002, and then attended Northeast Mississippi Community College for one year before transferring to Blue Mountain College, in Blue Mountain Mississippi.  Jeff attended Blue Mountain for three years before graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biblical Studies in May of 2006.

 Jeff has an incredible wife, Melody and two terrific parents, Jeff Sr. and Cathy Harrison.   He is the second oldest in a family of six.  He has three sisters: one older sister, Jodie who was killed in a car accident in 1998, Jamie, and Jennie.  He also has two brothers: Josh and Jonathan.   During the Summer of 2006 Jeff left his family and friends to embrace God’s urgent call to minister in the Northeast.  Since that time and prior to being called as Youth Minister at Trinity Baptist Church Jeff has completed one full year of classes at the Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, and married the love of his life, Melody on August 18, 2007. 

Prior to coming on staff at Trinity Baptist Church Jeff served as Interim Youth Minister at Hope Baptist Church in Flanders, NJ during the Summer of 2004, Interim Youth Minister at Golden Central Baptist Church in Golden, MS during the Fall of 2004, Youth Minister at Rienzi Baptist Church from 2004-2006 in Rienzi, MS, and Youth Minister at Hope Baptist Church in Flanders, NJ 2006-2007.